The narrative and the commemorative in the ceramic vessels of Hylton Nel, Wonderboy Nxumalo, Grayson Perry

Abstract:

This study explores the narrative and the commemorative aspect of the
contemporary ceramic vessel. It examines the context of the narrative and the
commemorative and how it manifests in the works of Grayson Perry, Wonderboy
Nxumalo and Hylton Nel.
I
have tended to take an approach that is Post Modernist and deconstructive
which attempts to be inclusive. The narrative and the commemorative are
explored and defined within the discourse of literary theory. Hence the concept of
memory, history, time, narrative structure and semiotics are evident within these
definitions. The relationship between the image and text is also explored and
how the artist exploits this narrative device.
The contemporary vessel is used within the narrative in the appropriation of
ceramic tradition and is explored in the works of these artists. Futhermore these
traditions are subverted and manipulated in order to convey the narrative, whose
content is both private and collective and extends and transgresses the confines
of societal boundaries. It will be demonstrated how each of the artists convey
their own dialogue that is driven by their own personal histories.
The chapters therefore explore thematically, many aspects of the narratives, all
of which are relevant to the artists:
· The Concept of the Child
· The Didactic Nature of the Narrative.
· Narrative, Genre and sign.
· Sexuality, Transgression and Queer Politics.
· Recalling the Past; History and Nostalgia.
I
n the final chapter I explore my own work from the required exhibition. Object
/Vessel: Narratives of Containment. The subject of the narrative is explored
within the context of the ceramic vessel and the mixed media drawing. Many of
the aspects of the narrative explored in this study have influenced my own work,
in particular the concept of memory, nostalgia and the past.